Sunday, May 19, 2013

Western Conference Finals Prediction: Spurs vs. Grizzlies (Trifone)

I have absolutely no idea who
is going to come out of the West. I typically have a pretty strong
opinion on who I feel is going to come out of a given matchup, but these
two teams are as evenly matched as they come. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph have been dominant in the playoffs, exposing a flawed Oklahoma
City Thunder team. Clearly, Russell Westbrook has meant more to that
team than people may have thought, because when asked to carry the load
on his own, Kevin Durant fell short of where we had become accustomed to
seeing him succeed.

As
for the Spurs, they are a tough team to predict. Last year, they were
playing close to perfect basketball, and rolling through the playoffs,
only to go cold and lose four straight games to OKC. This year, they
steam-rolled the Lakers in four, and then looked like the inferior team
in their first two games at home against the Warriors. Personally, I
thought that they weren't going to get past that series after Golden
State left San Antonio with a 1-1 series tie, thoroughly outplaying them
in each of the first two games. The Spurs bounced back, though, and
were the better team the rest of the way.

Now,
the Spurs face another younger team, but one with a drastically
different style than they played in last year's Conference Finals, or
this year's Semi-Final matchup. Memphis has a strong inside game and
plays very tough defense. It promises to be a much lower-scoring series
with less transition offense and more fundamental basketball.

Since
I have to make a pick, I'm going to take San Antonio. Both teams have
been very impressive, but the Spurs may have just a slight edge. They
have more experience, they have guys who have already won multiple
championships, and they have home court advantage. It's a series that
is likely to go seven games, and I'd be surprised if we see any real
blowouts. I'll take Tony Parker and the Big Fundamental to help lead
the Spurs to the NBA Finals.